Especially for Primaries

We use stuffed animals to tell stories about familieswarm funny stories about small problems like a lost teddy bear or a leaky roof.

Even the teachers will laugh at the all too familiar things that happen when one little rabbit can’t sleep in the imaginary animal village of Felicity Falls, somewhere in the Ottawa Valley.

125 students

Many thanks for your lovely presentation Felicity Falls. The children really enjoyed the feast of colour, puppets, props and instruments. We hope you can come again next year!Elmdale School, Ottawa

The children were captivated by the story line and the delightful stuffed animals It dealt with familiar topicsgetting along with each other, family togetherness, friendship. They thoroughly enjoyed the presentation! The selection of musical instruments was very intriguing for young children. They loved the sounds!Karen Elliot, Central Park School, Toronto

I enjoyed watching the levels of student engagement throughout the presentation. The performers did not use the stage, but chose to be on the same level as the students for gentle contact and interactions with the audience (e.g., brushing silk scarves over their heads). (The students enjoyed) the comedy, the familiar events/scenarios to which students could make personal connections easily (e.g., making mistakes, losing things, bedtime) and the music, the variety of creative sounds and instruments.—Rothwell-Osnabruck School, Ingleside

Curriculum Focus and Expectations

Expectations:
Express personal responses and make connections to characters, themes, and issues presented in their own and others' drama works
Demonstrate an awareness of different kinds of drama and theatre from different times and places

Themes:
Storytelling through puppetry and music.

A group of animals find a new place to live in the Ottawa valley.

In a series of short stories, the show follows their everyday lives as they build their home and their community. Here are the stories:

Coming to the Valley

Once upon a time a group of animals had to find a new place to live. They crossed grey, rocky mountains and found a green valley, a blue river and a small waterfall.

The valley had everything they needed, so they built houses there, and a mill  and they called their village Felicity Falls.

They had lots of sunny days, and lots of rainy days. Rain helped the crops grow (especially the carrots, for the rabbits).

Leaky Roofs

One time it rained really hard, and all of their roofs started to leak.

Everyone in the village crowded into the Rabbits’ tiny kitchen. It was so crowded no one could move without bumping into a porcupine, and porcupines are prickly, but that’s okay, porcupines are supposed to be prickly. And everyone was glad that they had such good neighbours to help them out.

The Lost Teddy

After the rain, there were suddenly apple blossoms everywhere. Rod Rabbit got busy fixing his roof and his daughter, Rose had a friend over: Tansy Weasel.

Rose’s little brother Jack was going berry picking with their mother, Rhapsody Rabbit, and Rose promised to take care of Jack’s teddy while they were gone. But Tansy suggested a new game, "Hide the teddy", and before they knew it, the teddy was lost.

Rose and Tansy were pretty worried, but when Jack and Rhapsody came home, an almost magical thing happened. A breeze shook the leaves of the apple tree where Tansy had hidden the teddy. The teddy fell out of the tree and right into Jack’s lap.

It was a good thing they found Jack’s teddy, because he really needs it to get to sleep.

Musical Beds

One night, just when Rod and Rhapsody were going to sleep, they heard a noise: Jack had fallen out of his crib. He refused to go back into it, so Rod and Rhapsody took him into their bed.

It took a while, but eventually they all went to sleep. Then Rose came in with a sore leg, a growing pain. Rhapsody got up, and the two of them went back to Rose’s bed, so Rhapsody could rub Rose’s leg. But Rhapsody fell asleep and Rose felt a little crowded.

She decided to climb in bed with her father and Jack. There she went right to sleep, and dreamed about flying. Flutter, flutter flutter. Jack meanwhile, was dreaming about swimming lessons. Kick, kick, kick. Their father Rod went to find another place to sleep.

In the morning, Rose heard a terrible noise in the bathroom. It sounded like a grizzly bear. She ran to get her mother. When Rhapsody pushed open the bathroom door . . .

"That’s not a bear, that’s Daddy!" the children cried, jumping into the tub and all over the no longer sleeping (or snoring) Rod. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

Willemina Gets Married

As summer turned to fall, Rose was out playing in a field near her house, when she saw something amazing. A hot air balloon.There was a weasel in the balloon, a travelling salesman named Waldo Weasel. He was a wonderful weasel, and soon everyone in the village loved him, especially Weasel, Tansy’s aunt.

Waldo and Willemina decided to get married, and everyone was invited to the wedding.

Waldo and Willemina stayed in the village. They started the first store, and they started a family.

All this happened a long time ago. Waldo and Willemina are grandparents now. So is Rod Rabbit.

"When we first came here," says Rod, "the kids thought we found some sort of magic place. Well, I don’t know if we found any magic here, but we found something better heck, we made something better. We made a home here in Felicity Falls."

Audience size:

Maximum of 125 students per performance. Recommended for primary students.

Tables:

We need a table of normal height, at least 4' long. If it could be waiting for us, that would be great.

Times:

The show is 45 minutes, plus 10 minutes for questions. Set-up time is 1 hour, and packing up takes 30 minutes. With seating time, we'll be in the performance area for about 2 and a half hours. Please rearrange the gym or library schedule and have the area clear for our arrival.

Seating Arrangement:

The children should sit on the floor, with the youngest children in the front. They should arrive in order of age. Chairs can be set out along the sides so that teachers can sit beside their students. You can see a PDF file of our seating plan for schools here, and our public show seating here.

Fans, Photos, & Other Distractions:

Please turn off all bells and fans for the show, and try to prevent comings and goings. We find that picture-taking distracts the children, so we ask that photos only be taken after the show. And, please, no announcements. (They're the worst!)

Access to Performance Area:

We'd like to drive as close to the performance area as possible. Please arrange to have gates and doors opened, and keep a parking space free for us.